No. 4 Men's Ice Hockey Falls To No. 10 Yale, 7-4

Dec 05, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No.4 Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey
team lost to No. 10 Yale University, 7-4, in an ECAC Hockey
match-up at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. The loss snaps the
Bobcats' eight-game winning streak and also hands them their first
ECAC Hockey loss of the year. Quinnipiac now stands at 12-2-0
overall and 7-1-0 in league play while Yale improves to 6-3-2
overall and 3-1-2 in ECAC Hockey action.

Quinnipiac was led by senior assistant captain Brandon Wong
(Victoria, B.C.) who turned in his second straight two-goal game.
Freshman Loren Barron (Glendora, Ca.) and senior Greg Holt (Mt.
Sinai, N.Y.) also scored for the Bobcats while Eric Lampe (Madison,
Wisc.) had two assists in the loss. Three of Quinnipiac's four
goals came on the power-play, with Quinnipiac posting a 3-for-5
showing with a man advantage.

For Yale, Denny Kearney and Sean Backman each scored twice for the
Bulldogs, with both of Kearney's goals coming in the final five
minutes of play as part of a four-goal run by Yale to close the
game.

The first period featured four power play goals between the two
teams as both nationally-ranked programs battled to a 2-2 at the
end of the period. Quinnipiac entered the game ranked
7th nationally on the power play at 26.4% while Yale was
ranked 19th at 20.6%. The Bobcats scored on both
power-play opportunities in the first period, while Yale was
2-for-4.

The Bulldogs took an early lead, scoring just over three minutes
into the game. Backman scored his first goal of the match-up
assists by Brian O'Neill and Tom Dignard. Bobcats' freshman Loren
Barron (Glendora, Calif.) answered with his third goal of the
season. The play started when Jean-Marc Beaudoin (St. Paul, Alb.)
hooked up with Lampe, who crashed the net. Lampe's shot was stopped
by the Bulldogs' goalie, Jeff Malcolm. The puck drifted out of the
crease where it was picked up by Barron, who roofed a shot to beat
Malcolm and tie the game.

The Bobcats took a one-goal lead seven minutes later when Wong
scored his ninth goal of the season. Greg Holt (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.)
started the play, sending the puck to Lampe to the left of Malcolm.
Lampe attempted a wrap-around shot that was denied by Malcolm.
Malcolm failed to control the puck, allowing Wong to punch it past
the freshman netminder to give Quinnipiac a 2-1 lead.

Yale tied the game less than a minute later when Dignard rotated
the puck to Mark Arcobello at the point. Arcobello blasted a pass
to O'Neill who tipped it past Quinnipiac goalie Dan Clarke
(Belleville, Ont.) to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the first
intermission.

Jeff Anderson gave Yale a 3-2 lead just 32 seconds into the second
period. After a Bobcat turnover in the neutral zone, Anderson
skated one-on-one with Clarke. Anderson had the puck knocked off
his stick by Bobcats freshman Zach Davies, but was able to regain
control as he approached the net and flip it over Clarke's pad to
give the Bulldogs a one-goal lead.

Holt tied the game with just under five minutes to play in the
period with a shot from the point. Yuri Bouharevich (Montreal,
Que.) controlled the puck in the right face-off circle before the
puck was knocked loose by a Yale defender. Bouharevich poked the
puck out to Holt, who one-timed a shot through traffic. The puck
rattled in off the left post for the senior forwards' third goal of
the season.

Wong put Quinnipiac on top with 13:36 to play in the game with the
Bobcats' third power-play goal of the night. Holt held the puck
along the boards in front of the Bobcats' bench and sent it across
ice to Zach Hansen (White Bear Lake, Minn.). Hansen delivered a
pass to Lampe to the left of the goal who re-directed the puck to
Wong. Wong's shot bounced over Malcolm's pad and trickled over the
goal-line for the senior forward's 10th goal of the
season.

Yale captain Ryan Donald tied the game at the 11:26 mark with a
blast from the point off a face-off. Andrew Miller won the draw,
sending the puck back to Donald. Donald's shot through traffic
found the top left corner of the goal to knot the score at 4-4.

Both teams played to a draw over the next seven minutes before
Denny Kearney put Yale back out in front with less than five
minutes to play. Miller connected with Broc Little, whose initial
shot was blocked by Clarke. After the puck slid loose, Kearney took
control and flipped a shot past Clarke. Backman scored his second
goal of the game minutes later when Yale took control of the puck
in the neutral zone and headed up-ice on an odd-man rush. O'Neill
skated on goal and then sent the puck to the slot for Backman whose
one-timer beat Clarke to give Yale a two-goal lead. Kearney scored
on an empty net to seal the game.

Quinnipiac will look to bounce back when it travels to Providence,
R.I. to take on Brown University in an ECAC Hockey match-up at
Meehan Auditorium at 7 p.m. With Brown's 3-1 win against Princeton,
the Bears have now won three straight games.